Three Years!

Yep, three years ago today I married my hottness in the St.George Temple!  I have to say that it seems like we've been married way longer than that... in a good way.
I remember when we got engaged, I knew he was the right choice and I loved him, but he wasn't my best friend yet.  I love to collect friends especially best friends, but I felt like I had known my other friends longer and had more experiences with them.  I remember telling him that I couldn't wait for him to become my bestest friend of all!  And, it really didn't take that long at all!  Really, it just took us living in the same state together and some alone time... (Cancun below, on our honeymoon).
Three years and three states (Nevada, California, Utah), I would have never imagined our first home being in Utah.  (Richard told me when we were engaged that he would NEVER live in Utah.)  Now I can't imagine living anywhere else right now.  Choosing a job and place to live, buying a house, and having our first child have definitely brought us closer together.
And, all of those fun times!  He caught my eye boogying down on the dance floor, you know.  And although life is full of too much seriousness, my Richard proves to me time and again that he can have a good time... even if it requires some begging from me! 
We celebrated this past weekend with lots of fun!  

On Friday night, we went to the opera "Don Pasquale".  This really was a fun and entertaining opera.  If you've never seen an opera before and are afraid of it being too serious and boring, go to this one!  

Yesterday (Monday) we took Nelson to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy and liked it so much, we bought a year membership.  

We've also had lots of good food and are going to go do sealings in the St.George temple this weekend.  We know how to stretch out a celebration!

Thanks for three great year, Richard!  Here's to lots and lots more!

A Couple of Tips

Okay, a few of you want some tips or a better explanation on how I coupon - shop.  I promise to give more of a review and explanation later, but I wanted to give a heads up to all of you Utah Moms out there that have kids/husbands that eat crackers like crazy.

This week at Albertson's they are selling Wheat Thins, Triscuits, and other types of Nabisco crackers for $1.47.  This is a great price by itself, but there is also a coupon on-line (print it from your computer, you don't need to buy a newspaper) for $1.00 off Wheat Thins and Triscuits. 

Go to coupons.com . Click on the coupons (the box next to the picture that says "Clip" and print... and you can print each coupon twice.  It really is that easy (okay, you have to cut out the coupon, too).  But, then you get crackers for $.47 a box!

Other coupons on this site that you can get excellent deals at Albertson's are:

- Ritz cracker chips: $1.99 - $1.00 off coupon = $.99

- Kraft salad dressing: $1.50 - $1.00 off coupon = $.50

- Kraft BBQ Sauce: $1.00 - $1.00 off coupon = FREE

Other coupons on this site that you can use at Smith's are:

- Kool-aid canister: $.99 - $1.00/2 off coupon = $.98 for 2

- Country Time Lemonade canister: $.99 - $1.50/2 off coupon = $.48 for 2

I could go on and on and give you other tips, but I want to take this slow so I don't scare people off.  Actually, just one more... Walmart price matches, so if you take in your Albertson's and Smith's ads, you can everything up there except the Ritz cracker chips (I don't think it's in the ad, just on sale at the store).  I go to the actual stores because of other little hidden deals and to support them for having such good deals.  But, if you just want to go to one store, that is an option.  

Hope this wasn't too confusing... Happy Shopping!

Confessions of a Coupoholic!

Okay, I'm just going to come out and say it... I'm addicted!  I am completely addicted to couponing!  My friend, Crystal, introduced me to it a few months ago and after dipping my toes into the couponing world for a couple of months, I jumped in!  And, I haven't looked back once.  You don't know how exciting it is to plan out the most incredible shopping trip, get everything you wanted on you list, and come home to show your husband how much you really saved.  If you want to get a glimpse of my excitement, come along with me as I explain the past two weeks worth of savings.  Look at this picture and guess how much I spent:

Did you guess $7.58?  And then did you guess that I got $12.00 worth of voucher money for my next shopping trip at Albertson's?  That's what I thought!  Now you might be thinking, I'm pretty good at this couponing thing, but I'm just getting started....

Okay, so I have $12.00 worth of vouchers and the new week starts, so I make my plan to conquer the whole store!  In the end I come out with: 24 boxes of cereal, 2 gallons of milk, 2 blocks of cream cheese, one small block of cheese, one French Vanilla coffee mate (for orange julius), and a cake mix.  For all of this, I used my $12.00 in vouchers and paid just under $8.00.  And, I left with a voucher for another free gallon of milk.

You may be thinking that I need to live off of other things than cereal and bandaids.  Don't worry, every week I stock up on different things.  And, I still have money left over for the other food that is necessary.  

For example, after only spending $8.00 at Albertson's this past week, I headed to WalMart and Kohler's (both pretty close to each other and on the way home to my house).  At those two stores, I spent another $20 on: two pounds of turkeyburger, two pound bad of mini carrots, a dozen eggs, a pork roast, cottage cheese, paper towels, two frozen orange juice concentrates, a bottle of apple juice, two boxes of Electrasol dishwasher tabs, a bottle of barbeque sauce and a kid plastic outdoor chair.  

Later that week, when I was at my in-law's in Orem, I stopped by Sunflower Market and spent another $8.00 on watermelon, bananas, peaches, pears, tomatoes, lettuce, and two ears of corn.  Then, I had just enough money left in my $50/week budget to head to Costco to stock up on Clorox wipes.

You see, I really am addicted to clipping those coupons and saving.  Go ahead, laugh all you want, but I'm saving tons of money and building up my food storage!

And speaking of clipping, I took my scissors to more than just my coupons last week.  After giving Richard his monthly haircut, I took my scissors to Nelson's hair.  I knew he needed shorter hair for the summer, but it still took me a couple of days to get used to my baby's older look.  What do you think?  Doesn't he look so much older?

Free Chocolate Fridays!

I just found this website that is giving away CHOCOLATE every Friday now until September 25, 2009.  Go to this site http://aws.realchocolate.com , fill in your information and they will send you a coupon (I think) for a free candy bar.  It's through the M&Ms/Mars company.  Why not try it out, it's free and chocolate!

My Moms!

Since it's Mother's Day, I wanted to give a little shout out to my Moms!

I don't know how I got so lucky, but I was born to the best Mom in the whole-wide world!  Seriously, it is hard for us daughters not to be a little envious of the perfection that preceded us in motherhood!  At least we got to benefit from the perfect.  Although it will be really hard to repeat.  Some of you that don't know my Mom may be asking how she could be so perfect.  Well, not only did my Mom have nine kids, but she also welcomed any of our friends to be her kids as well.  I think the last count was 1,268 kids in all (including the missionaries she and my Dad served with in the mission field).  She not only had a lot of kids, but she made/makes each one of us feel like we were her favorite.  Although, she will never admit that I really am her favorite!  She is kind to all.  She thinks of others first.  She has the most faith and spirituality of anyone I know.  She works hard to overcome her weaknesses (her silly feet - I know, how would it be to only have your feet as you weaknesses?).  She is always in the service of others.  She was the only person who could get me out of my darkest times in my life by building my confidence and testimony in Jesus Christ... I am crying thinking about all she's done for me.  She really has taught me through words and actions how to be a great Mom.  Although, I never think I can live up to her greatness, I will try!  I was named after her, you know.  A year before I was born, she received a Priesthood blessing that said she would be blessed with a daughter who would bring honor and glory to her name.  Knowing that, when faced with choices in my life, I have always thought, "Will this bring honor to my Mother?".  I hope to continue to make her proud.  I love the picture below.  It was taken hours after Nelson was born.  You can see the love she has for me and Nelson in her eyes.

Mom Burrows is a woman of many talents.  While waiting to find her eternal companion, she educated herself and developed these many talents that would help her future family immensely.  When she found her eternal companion, she was a saint and took on his six kids as well.  She then added three more children to the bunch.  While taking care of nine children, she also found time to teach at the local community college and be involved in other community groups.  I am a busy body like her so appreciate her outgoing nature and friend-making abilities.  Because of this,  I appreciate her even more for her willingness now to drop events and socials to be the full-time caretaker of her husband.  Mom, we really do know you sacrifice so much for Dad's health and well-being.  Thank you for taking on and tackling this hard challenge.  I am most thankful for the way in which my very own eternal companion was raised.  He is so well rounded and educated.  He is so kind and willing to help.  He is so spiritually minded.  And, I know he became the man that he is under your influence.  

I have so many other women in my life that I think about this day.  Women who really have been "Moms" to me.  To name of few: my older sister, Lora; my only aunt I had my whole life, Marietta; my YW leader, Lin Hansen; my Dixie roommate's Moms; my mission Mom, Sheila Hanson; my BYU Mom, Susan Orton; and many, many other amazing women that I've been proud to call "Mom".  

Becoming a Mom has definitely helped me realize that Mom really do deserve this special day.  So to all of you Moms out there that babysit, clean, cook, shop, pay bills, wrap presents, kiss hurts better, play games, run kids to soccer practice, and countless other things on a daily basis; sit back relax and just soak in the love you are given today... you will need it to get through the next year!

  

Family Time!

This past weekend my Mom; sister, Mary; and two of my nieces, Destiny and Elexis, came and picked Nelson and me up on their way to Rexburg, Idaho.  We went up there to see my oldest brother and his family.  His wife had their NINTH child in March, and they blessed her this past Sunday.  It was great to see their family (since I haven't seen them since they moved from Panaca a year ago) and meet my new little niece, Brinlee.  Nelson had so much fun playing with his cousins.  The pictures of little Brinlee and Shawn's family are really small, so I hope you can click on them to see how cute they are!

We came home on Monday, and Mary stayed with me for a couple of days.  Last week was a huge week for her... she celebrated her 1st anniversary, turned 24, and graduated from Dixie State with her teaching degree.  Not to mention, she helped pack up everything so her husband could drive out to Minnesota to sell security systems for the summer AND she is seven months pregnant.  She had quite the week and month, so on Tuesday I gave her an hour-long massage for her birthday/graduation present.  I also threw her a little party Tuesday night and had my nephew (who's going to BYU) and the Warner's (since they're friends with her) over.  Here are the cupcakes I made for her  party.  You would think I would have taken a cute picture of her pregnant, but no, I took a picture of the food!

Now she is off to Minnesota!  I will miss her this Summer, especially when she has her baby a million miles away from me.  But, I am super excited for them to move closer in the Fall.

Oh, and because I'm obsessed with my son, I need to throw in something cute that he has been doing lately... or two things.

First, he learned how to say "Jesus" the other day.  I was so happy because I would point to the picture and he would say "Jesus".  So cute!  Well, now he calls everything "Jesus".  Last night after getting out of the bathtub, I put him up by the mirror and asked, "Who's that?"  He replied, "Jesus!"  

Second, he learned how to stomp his feet.  It's so funny because he lifts his feet so high in the air and does it at the most random time.  He'll just be walking along and then does it!  So funny!